Cape Coast, July 27, GNA – Professor Harold Amonoo-Kuofi, former Provost of the College of Health and Allied Sciences (CoHAS) of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), has underscored the need for health training institutions to integrate effective health related technological innovations into teaching and learning.
He said the global revolution in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) powered by globalization had exposed students to varied sources of information that were inevitably affordable, reliable and accessible than hitherto teacher-led information sharing in classrooms.
Furthermore, the technological emergency had been exacerbated by mobile smart phones, computers and tablets that were ubiquitous elements of everyday life for students and teachers alike to augment teaching and learning.
Prof Amonoo-Kuofi gave the admonition in an address at the 18th anniversary celebration of CoHAS at UCC.
The occasion was used to celebrate the achievements of CoHAS and allied Departments and operating communities.
Held on the theme: “60 years of quality higher education: Expanding our frontiers of health”, CoHAS also, offered free consultations, health screening, medical services and exhibited research works to the public.
Prof Amonoo-Kuofi who is also a founding father of the College indicated that utilizing different types of technology in the classroom, including a virtual classroom, created learners who were actively engaged with learning objectives.
It also created pathways for differentiated instruction to meet the unique needs of students as individual learners within a broader classroom climate.
“The dynamics of emerging health information and education technology presents numerous opportunities for improving and transforming health education and services such as; reducing human errors, improving clinical outcomes, facilitating care coordination, improving practice efficiencies and tracking data over time.”
“I want to say that there is a need for change and for transformational shifts in mindsets and in behaviours. The creative shifts are needed to focus on cooperation, diversity, and flexible learning over traditional, well structured, hierarchical models of education,” Prof Amonoo-Kuofi advised.
The former Provost of CoHAS also encouraged health training institutions to invest in ICT aimed at meeting the local needs if the health sector to reach its potential through effective collaboration and communication to respond to global needs.
With that, he said, local contextual fact and factors must be considered to ensure training programmes were aligned to relevant needs for developing skills of graduates required by local industry.
“Greater collaboration with local national international partners would support the development of a more resilient and sustainable research ecology.”
“Research findings must be clearly and effectively communicated to policymakers bearing in mind the question: Would research, knowledge, research and knowledge translated to local needs,” Prof Amonoo-Kuofi lamented.
Prof Ernest Kofi Davis, the Provost of the School for Education Studies who represented the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Johnson Nyarko Boampong, said the College started in 2014 with consisting of a three-tier college of four schools.
That includes; the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Medical Sciences, Allied Health Sciences and Pharmaceutical Sciences and several academic departments.
The college is responsible for developing and administering programmes related to the education of healthcare professionals with rigorous curricula grounded in the sciences connected to the healthcare professions.
It was positioned to deal with contemporary issues with commitment to interdisciplinary inquiry, international understanding, interactive teaching, research and creative endeavours, practical application and social responsibility towards all communities.
GNA